Mike The Mechanics
Mike & the Mechanics is the musical project of the British songwriter and guitarist Mike Rutherford of Genesis. In its first phase, which ranged in July 2000 by the foundation in 1985 until the death of the singer Paul Young, it released five studio albums and came with them to significant commercial success.
In the following years, the band released another album in mid-2004 and entered a total of only sporadic in appearance. With the exit of the singer Paul Carrack in the fall of 2006, the project seemed to be finished. The end of 2009, however, Rutherford announced that he was working with a new cast on a new album and have committed to the singers Andrew Roachford.
- 2.1 Studio albums
- 2.2 Compilations
- 2.3 Singles
History
Founding and first album (1985-1986)
Mike Rutherford tried like all the other influential members of Genesis to build a second income as a musician in a separate solo project. His recorded with various studio musicians both early -1980s albums Smallcreep's Day and Acting Very Strange based on his introduced in Genesis basic ideas. However, on the second album, he played partly a significantly rockier electric guitar as it was common in Genesis and sang the songs themselves The result was obviously not satisfactory, which is why Rutherford in 1985 founded the project " Mike & the Mechanics ."
At a time when Genesis after the world tour in 1984 after their self-titled album Genesis (1983 ) on the were the entire 1980 - year-long peak of their commercial success, and his bandmate Phil Collins and former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel with their Publications appealed to a wide audience, Rutherford was looking for an artistic niche. He wanted to do more experimental, while contemporary publications with talented writers and musicians, without being too set personnel.
This is evident in the cast of the first album, the simply Mike & the Mechanics said. The core of the band consisted of Mike Rutherford on guitar and bass, producer Christopher Neil, keyboardist Adrian Lee and drummer Peter Van Hooke. After the rather bad experiences with his own singing Rutherford invited four vocalists for the recorded pieces, including the later solid members Paul Carrack and Paul Young ( not to be confused with the successful soul singer of the same name ). In addition there were other studio musicians. The pieces Rutherford wrote primarily in common with Neil or BA Robertson.
However, the inconspicuous niche existence was already with the publication of the first two singles Silent Running ( On Dangerous Ground ) and All I Need Is A Miracle in the summer of 1986 passed, which, like the album, first in the U.S. and then in other countries big market success was given.
From Living Years up to Hits (1988-1996)
The second album Living Years was formed in 1988 following the tour for the Genesis album Invisible Touch. The single The Living Years with their personal issue was, while the album also found the overall popularity of the critics as one of the most famous pieces of the group.
The third album Word Of Mouth In 1991, the first change in the formulation of Mike & the Mechanics, as Rutherford took the producer Russ Titelman added to the occupation of otherwise unchanged. However, cooperation was problematic, and the album sold less well than the Mechanics works of the 1980s.
During the following four years until the album Beggar On A Beach Of Gold (1995 ) were Genesis, for the last time in the occupation of their commercial heyday, for the album We Can not Dance active.
Mike and the Mechanics were supported by their two charismatic singers, always shine with compelling live performances. But instead of an industry standard live album was released in the spring of 1996 in the wake of success even branchenüblichere Best Of compilation named Hits with a re-recorded version of the track All I Need Is A Miracle.
In the new millennium (since 1999)
In the sixth album Mike & the Mechanics (hence also known as M6) of 1999, there was the first profound changes. The previously existing core team disbanded; next to Rutherford, Carrack and Young was only Gary Wallis represented as a solid musician. Wallis had already played at Beggar On A Beach Of Gold as well as in live performance drums and replaced 're in the studio Peter Van Hooke. The two singers were playing instruments, in particular Paul Carrack let his experience and his growing success at the time as a versatile instrumentalist on keyboards, guitar and drums incorporated. Among the various producers who worked with Mike Rutherford, were Chris Neil, the Genesis co- producer Nick Davis and the external producer pair Mark Taylor and Brian Rawling, the targeting of single Now That You've Gone a modern and large a sales success sound tasks. The result was a smooth, then sliding between casually played semi- acoustic pop songs and electronic sounds album, which seemed at times as a solo album by Paul Carrack.
In July 2000, Paul Young died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 53 of a heart attack. For a long time it was unclear for the fans, whether this would mean the end of Mike & the Mechanics as a solo artist Paul Carrack was always successful.
But the opposite was the case, because the Launched in June 2004 Rewired plate was a return to the early days, now under the name of Mike & the Mechanics feat. Paul Carrack. Produced by Rutherford and Peter Van Hooke helped new musicians like Rupert Cobb and Will Bates, to create an experimental pieces embossed by means of an accompanying DVD also visually maltes album. On the following promotional tour, the group went on among other things the opening act for Phil Collins.
In November 2006, Paul Carrack said in an interview with Radio Jade that he would not record another album with the band, after had been refused him to use some of Mike & the Mechanics songs for his Greatest Hits album. Mike Rutherford also said in an interview that the time the band was over.
Mid-2009 announced Carrack, Mike Rutherford that working on a new album for the Mechanics. Rutherford himself confirmed this in December and announced that Andrew Roachford new singer of the group going. The new album The Road was subsequently published in April 2011, but came just short of the top 50
The newly formed band has been celebrating the release of this album great live success and thereby falls mainly as a strong band at the festival.